2nd Singapore International Public Health Conference

Held jointly with the 11th Singapore Public Health & Occupational Medicine Conference at the Waterfront Copthorne Hotel. I managed to attend the opening and initial lectures yesterday morning. Dr Amy Khor, the Senior Minister of State, Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources & Ministry of Health, was once again the guest of honour (as she was for the first edition in 2012). The programme – as befits a public health and occupational medicine conference – is very diverse and interesting, and I was a bit surprised that I recognized perhaps as many of the 600+ participants as I might have at an infectious diseases conference.

Prof Chia Kee Seng, Dean of the Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health, giving the welcome address. He took the opportunity to slip in several public health messages……one of which was on the high rates (50%) of dental caries among 6- and 7-year-olds in Singapore, despite our fluoridated water.Dr Amy Khor giving the opening address as GOH. I am glad she spoke extensively about antimicrobial resistance, as did almost all speakers during the opening segment.

Dr Richard Horton, editor of Lancet, giving the plenary lecture. He introduced the concept of “planetary health” (most of us are still bending our minds aroind the concept of “one health”)This slide, from a lecture by Prof Richard Coker from LSTMH and who formerly headed fhe ID programme at SSHSPH, speaks for itself.

The second (and final) day of the conference is today. Topics include obesity, aviation medicine, Sustainable Development Goals, and nutrition.